by Lane, Soraya
Hope raised a hand, staring at Chase as she drove past. There was nothing left to say—he’d worked silently alongside her until the last couple of heifers, then disappeared awhile, and he knew she was coming by again in the morning to check on them.
It only took a couple of minutes to reach the house and she jumped out, retrieving the boots she’d borrowed from Chloe before heading for the front door. She left them under the eaves so they wouldn’t get wet if it rained and let herself in.
“Anybody home?”
Nobody answered but she heard voices and laughter and headed down the hall and into the kitchen. She paused at the doorway. Harrison was sitting on a barstool, his legs dangling as he drained a glass of chocolate milk, a half-eaten sandwich discarded on a plate beside him.
He was laughing at something Nate had said, and it wasn’t until she moved farther forward that she saw Ryder had his head in the fridge, the three of them hanging out together. An all-too-familiar sensation of guilt passed over her, an icy haze washing through her body.
“Hey,” she said, forcing herself to walk into the room.
The laughter on Nate’s face died, his stare cold as the Antarctic Ocean. “I was just giving the little guy a snack.”
“He’ll eat you out of house and home if you give him the chance,” she joked, clearing her throat when Nate’s expression remained unchanged. She put a protective arm around her boy, suddenly terrified at what she might be up against.
Nate had seemed like a big teddy bear the night before, tough on the outside and like marshmallow on the inside, but she was fast seeing why he was so damn successful in business, why he was so naturally capable of taking over the running of his grandfather’s company. His stare was making her knees knock, and that was without worrying about the sheer size of him towering over her as he moved closer to them. Hope shot a quick glance at Ryder—up until now his bright eyes had shone with laughter, his grin infectious, but that smile was long gone.
“We’ll be seeing you again real soon, Harris,” Nate said, leaning over to ruffle his hair. “Today was fun.”
“Today was so cool,” Harrison said, eyes dancing when he spun around and almost toppled off his chair. “Chase came over before and took me outside, showed me some puppies. He said I could even pick one and choose a name and everything.”
Hope swallowed, her throat catching. She was finding it hard to breathe with Nate so close, and it was becoming clear to her that it wasn’t just Chase she needed to be worried about. He’d obviously told his brothers the minute she’d confessed, and they weren’t about to let their nephew walk out of their lives. And giving him a puppy? She got the hint that the puppy was going to be living here, which meant Chase was expecting to be seeing a whole lot of their son.
“Harrison, can you go grab your stuff? Double-check you haven’t left anything around the house.”
“But, Mom…”
She touched his shoulder and dropped a kiss to his head before jumping him down from the stool. “No arguing, sweetheart. We have to go. You can tell me all about today in the car.”
She kept her shoulders back, refusing to be intimidated by the two men standing before her. So they were wealthy and powerful. So what? She was Harrison’s mom, and if there was one thing she could never be criticized of it was being a damn good mother.
“I take it Chase told you guys,” she started.
Nate folded his arms across his chest and Ryder leaned back, both of them never taking their eyes off her for a second.
“He’s a King,” Nate said. “Pure and simple, he’s one of us.”
“And he’s my son,” she said. “When Chase is ready to talk, we’ll talk, but until then…”
“We all make mistakes and I know that better than anyone,” Ryder said, shaking his head when Nate gave him a sharp look. “Give Chase some time to cool the hell down, then work it out. This is between the two of you, and the only solution is to fix what’s broke. Got it?”
“Bottom line is there’s no way you’re bringing that boy up without him knowing our family.”
Hope bristled at the commanding way Nate spoke to her, but she could see that Ryder was more compassionate than his older brother and she needed to keep her cool while he was giving her a lifeline.
Just as she was about to answer him, Chase walked into the room. He ran a hand across his stubbled jaw as he first looked at her, then walked straight past. Harrison came running into the room at high speed at almost the same time.
“I’ve got everything, Mom.”
She reached for his hand and took one of his Transformers so he didn’t have so much to hold. “Thanks for having us last night,” she said, ignoring Chase and looking between his brothers instead. “Tell Chloe I’m sorry I didn’t get to say goodbye.”
“See ya, Chase,” Harrison called out, waving to the others and breaking her heart all over again. “Can I come back and see the puppies again soon?”
Chase turned, dropping to his haunches. “You sure can, bud. I reckon you can come here whenever you want.”
“And play Transformers?” Harrison asked innocently.
“And play Transformers,” Chase said, his smile genuine as he reached out to touch Harrison’s shoulder. “Definitely Transformers. I’ll brush up on all the names so I can play better next time.”
“And ride Whiskey?”
Chase chuckled and Hope just stayed silent, heart breaking.
“We can do anything you want. I bet that old pony had the best day ever with you playing with him.”
“Come on, sweetheart,” she said, squeezing Harrison’s hand and walking him out, forcing him to go past Chase.
She could fall to pieces later. Right now, she had to be strong for her boy.
* * *
“How you doing?”
Chase shrugged and pulled open the fridge door, staring at the contents and then shutting it again. “Is it too early to get rotten drunk?”
Ryder glanced at his watch. “Yeah, kinda. But then again you’ve just found out you’re a dad, so maybe not.”
“I’m not a dad,” Chase muttered, opening the fridge again and pulling out a beer. A beer he could justify at this time of the day. He’d wait to start on the whiskey until after five. “I’m the kid’s biological father.” Their dad hadn’t deserved the title, and Chase was a firm believer in not taking that kind of term lightly, not without earning it. Their granddad had been their dad—maybe not technically, but by the way he’d taken over their care and raised them.
“He’s a really nice kid,” Nate said, taking Chase’s lead and grabbing a couple of beers. Chase watched as he opened them both and passed one to Ryder.
“I know she really pulled one over on you, bro, but I think you should hear her out. Try to figure something…”
“She lied to me, Ryder. Am I supposed to just forget that?” Chase was pissed but he knew it wasn’t his brother’s fault. “Sorry, I just… I don’t even know what I’m thinking.”
Nate grimaced, his face drawn into a frown as he stared at his beer. “My gut instinct is to hate her for what she did, Chase, but she’s the mother of your son. And you guys used to be pretty close.”
“Yeah, but maybe I didn’t know her as well as I thought.”
“Or maybe she knew you better than you realized,” Ryder said.
“Hey, whose goddamn side are you on?”
Ryder held up his hands in surrender. “Yours. But I’m just sayin’, maybe she had her reasons. I just don’t want you to cut this kid out to spite Hope.” Ryder shrugged. “We know what it’s like to grow up without a dad, but we were lucky to have Granddad. Who’s this kid got except his mom?”
Chase knew Ryder was right, but it still didn’t make it any easier.
“I loved her,” Chase confessed for the second time that day, only telling his brothers was easier than telling Hope had been. “I never told her, but I did.”
“So make things right,” Ryder said.
Chase
looked at Ryder, his barely noticeable nod telling Chase that both his brothers thought he needed to at least listen to what she had to say.
“And what if I can’t forgive her?” Right now, Chase didn’t even want to see her face again. What Hope had done was unforgivable as far as he was concerned, no matter her reasons.
“Then don’t,” Nate said. “But whatever you can’t forgive her for isn’t the kid’s fault. We’re here for you, and the boy deserves to know that he has a dad and uncles. He might have lost his mom’s ranch, but he’ll always have a place here. He’s a King.”
“Can we just get drunk and forget all about this for the rest of the day?” Chase asked.
“Damn straight we can,” Ryder replied, holding up his beer bottle and clinking it against Chase’s.
“Yeah, and while we’re at it we can try to figure out how the hell we’re gonna catch us a thief,” Nate said. “I’ve organized cameras to be installed, but I doubt whoever it is will be coming back anytime soon.”
“We gonna install them ourselves so no one knows what’s going on? In case it was an inside job?” Chase asked.
Nate nodded and took a pull of his beer.
“Hey, did I tell you guys that Hope had this weird theory about it being Randy?”
Ryder laughed but Nate’s face remained impassive.
“What?” Chase asked. “You believe her? I reckon it’s one of the younger guys. One with nothing to lose. I saw a couple of them hanging around the barn today, and one stuck to Randy like glue the day before yesterday, when Hope was here.”
“I don’t know what I believe,” Nate said. “All I know is that there are only three people on this ranch right now that I trust without question, and you guys are two of them. The other is Chloe. As far as I’m concerned it could be anyone else.”
Chase finished his beer and headed over for another. If he wanted to forget about Hope, he needed to start drinking faster.
* * *
Chase rolled out of bed and cringed when he opened his eyes. Drinking away his troubles had seemed like a great idea at the time, but he was going to pay for it this morning. He kicked his shirt out of the way and reached for his jeans, keeping his movements slow so he didn’t aggravate the steady thumping in his head, and pulled them on, heading first into the bathroom to splash some cold water on his face, then straight downstairs for coffee.
“You look terrible.”
Chase ignored his brother and pushed the button on the coffee machine.
“Want something for the pain?” Nate asked.
“Yeah, that’s why I drank whiskey last night.” Chase glanced around, saw that Nate had already tidied up. “What’s the time?” Maybe Mrs. T had already been in and tended to their mess.
“It’s nine. You slept in.”
Chase glared at Nate, not needing to be called out on having a late one. He was usually back inside after doing the rounds, sipping his second coffee of the day by now—one morning behind the eight ball wasn’t gonna kill anyone.
“So what are you thinking this morning?”
“Fuck, Nate, I’ve just woken up,” Chase grumbled, staring at the thick black liquid pouring in a steady stream into his cup. “I haven’t even had time to think about her.” This was why he’d been better off surrounded by people who didn’t know anything about Hope the night before.
Nate’s laugh only annoyed him more. “I actually meant about finding the thief, but you wanna talk about Hope, no problem.”
Chase resisted the urge to swear at his brother and blew on his coffee, burning his mouth when he took a small sip. Once he’d downed a good strong dose of caffeine he’d start to feel human again.
“You’re drinking it black again? You must feel like shit,” Nate said as he reached for an apple and took a bite.
A phone ringing took his mind off the grating sound of Nate eating and he looked around, realizing it was his. It was vibrating on the counter and he grabbed it, staring hard at the screen when he saw Hope’s name displayed.
He didn’t give Nate a chance to ask him who it was. “Yup,” he said.
“Hi, Chase. I just wanted to check in.”
He cleared his throat. “They’re all looking good this morning. I’m heading out to check them over again shortly.”
Chase turned his back on Nate, hoping Hope couldn’t hear his brother’s snigger. She didn’t need to know he’d been drowning his sorrows in whiskey and hadn’t even made it out yet.
“Okay. Well, I’ll be over later on to check them myself, but it’ll be forty-five days before we ultrasound.”
Chase took another sip of his coffee. Just hearing Hope’s voice was pissing him off. “Will you be doing that yourself?”
She cleared her throat. “I could get another tech to do it. If that’s what you’d prefer.”
“Fine. Thanks for the call.”
Chase hung up and spun around to find Nate shaking his head, looking at him like he was idiot.
“Thanks for the call? What the fuck was that about?”
“I was being polite,” Chase muttered, draining the dregs in his cup and putting his cup in the dishwasher.
“You can’t just bury your head in the sand.”
“I reckon ignoring her is the best thing I can do right now. I’m not gonna turn my back on the kid, but I’m through with Hope. She screwed me over and I’m not giving her the chance to do it again.”
“And if she’s right about Randy?” Nate asked.
“She won’t be. And if she is, then what? It doesn’t change what she did to me.” Chase opened the drawer where they kept medicines and found something for his head. He turned on the faucet and stuck his mouth under, taking a big gulp of water and swallowing the pills down. “A bottle of booze and a night’s sleep haven’t changed anything, Nate, and don’t give me that look either.”
Nate raised his brows. “And what look would that be?”
“That goddamn look on your face right now. Don’t go acting like you’d be behaving any different than I am if you’d just found out someone you’d trusted had screwed you over. She had my child and she never told me. She let the boy think her husband was his dad.”
Nate shrugged. “Maybe she didn’t.”
Chase met his gaze, glared into eyes that were as dark and stormy as his felt. “Okay then, maybe she didn’t. Bottom line is I’m done with her regardless.”
He left his brother and ran up the stairs, ignoring the pain in his head. Chase found a clean shirt, did up the buttons, and headed for the back door. There was plenty for him to do around the ranch, and the busier he kept himself the happier he’d be. He wanted to be in the saddle or working with livestock. What he didn’t want to do was talk. Not to anyone.
“Wait up,” Nate called out, catching up to him. “Ryder just phoned and told me the cameras were just delivered. We can set them up ourselves and monitor them from my iPad.”
Chase grunted and pulled on his boots. “You thought about what we’ll do when we find the son of a bitch?”
“No. You?”
“If anyone’s throwing any punches, it’ll be me. Got it?”
“Yeah, I got it.”
“We telling Granddad about this?” Chase asked.
“The old man doesn’t like anything being kept from him, so yeah. How about we go pick him up today, bring him back here for the afternoon if he’s up to it.”
“Sounds good.” Chase walked alongside his brother, falling into an easy rhythm. “I miss having him around.”
“Me too. And it’s only gonna get worse.”
They both knew the inevitable was coming. He might be the strongest man they’d ever have the privilege of knowing, but even someone like their grandfather could only fight cancer for so long. The last thing they needed was one of the newer guys, or all of them if they were working together, pulling one over on them and getting away with it, and then their granddad hearing about it.
“Are you gonna tell him about Harrison?” Nate aske
d, waving to Ryder as they approached.
“How about we just focus on how the hell we’re gonna convince the nurses to let us take him out for the day,” Chase said, eyes on his herd as he approached the field they were in. They were grazing near the fence so he was able to get close to them straightaway. “But yeah, if we bring him back, I’ll tell him.” He might be stubborn, but if there was one person who could always talk sense into him it was his granddad, and right now he could probably do with his perspective.
* * *
Hope arrived back at King Ranch, driving slowly past the house and heading toward the yards. She was hoping the herd would still be nearby, giving her the chance to look them over and go before she had to run into Chase or his brothers. She stopped and sat, immobile, not wanting to get out. Her eyes were still burning, like there was no moisture left around them, her pupils sore from a long day of work after hours lying awake the night before, eventually crying herself to sleep. Not to mention the thumping headache she’d had all afternoon. It was times like this she just wanted to go home, only then she’d remember that home wasn’t there anymore.
Hope forced herself to push the door open and dropped her feet onto the hard-packed ground. She straightened and stretched, glancing at her wristwatch and seeing that it was almost six. Harrison would be so upset if she wasn’t back to put him to bed—she was usually firm about being home early, he always came first, but today had been a disaster from the moment she’d rolled out of bed.
She stood and surveyed the cattle. They were a quiet mob, happily grazing and flicking their tails in the last moments of sunshine. She almost envied them—not a care in the world, only thinking about shelter and food.
“They’re looking pretty good.”
The bottom dropped out of Hope’s stomach, her entire body breaking out in goose pimples just hearing Chase’s voice.
